Chapter 21
LB
"Kelpie's Death." I said as I reached the Gryffindor tower. The knight, who's name I'd forgotten, was standing there with his sword pointed at me.
"Password has changed, my fair lady."
"Again?" I groaned. I turned around with a frown, before I came up with an idea. I raised my wand in front of me. "Expecto Patronum." Silver-white streaks flew out of my wand until it changed into a white artic wolf. "Hey, Loki. This message is for Angelina, alright?" I asked and the wolf's ears perked up. "Angelina, I can't get in the tower, the freaking knight changed the password again. If you're in the common room, can you open the portrait? If not, I'll come by another time."
The wolf leaped over me and jumped through the knight's portrait, who was wielding his sword towards the Patronus, but it just went straight through. Not five seconds later the portrait door swung open, revealing the twins and Angelina.
"She had sent me the Patronus." She huffed and pushed the twins aside. It looked like the three of them had raced to the door, but seeing as the twins' legs were longer, they arrived first. "Why did you run out of the great hall? And where have you been all day?" She asked grabbing my arm and pulled me inside.
She pulled me towards their favourite corner, she sat down in an oversized armchair and pulled me next to her, the twins sat back down next to Lee and Alicia. "I got a letter with my OWL results. And I rushed out to open it with my uncle."
"Go on, tell us. Don't let us wait in suspense." Angelina tugged my arm.
"Alright." I chuckled. "I passed, an O on both fronts."
"I knew it!" She cried out and hugged me.
"We all knew that Ange." George rolled his eyes with a smile.
"We should celebrate." Lee grinned. "Maybe with something strong?"
"No, I just had some fire whiskey." I shook my head.
"Professor Lupin gave you fire whiskey? I wish my parents were that relaxed." Angelina chuckled.
"No, I'm celebrating with him a little later. He never gets me anything stronger than cider."
"With whom were you drinking fire whiskey then?" Alicia asked curious. It wasn't like we were close friends, but she had loosened up over the past weeks. We didn't talk separately, but when we were in the group, we exchanged words.
"I went to tell Snape about my results."
"Snape gave you fire whiskey!?" Fred shouted and nearly jumped out of his chair from shock, making the other students look at him.
"No, dimwit." I laughed softly. "Can I finish?" I asked with a raised brow. "After I left his classroom, I bumped into Nott. He invited me in the Slytherin common room."
"You went into the snake's lair?" Angelina gasped next to me.
"And I came out of it alive and without a scratch." I looked to the twins, who had a frown in place. "I can't say the same for Crabbe and Goyle. I believe that was your handy work?" I raised my brow again.
"We can't confirm –"
"Or deny it." George finished, both with a grin, but something was off.
"That's what I thought." I snickered and Angelina did the same. Then something large, fluffy and orange appeared on my lap. Crookshanks had leaped up on my lap and looked at me with his flat nose and large eyes. "Hello, Crooks." I scratched behind his ear.
"That is a weird cat." Angelina said leaning away from me and the cat. "He doesn't like anyone except for Hermione and you, apparently. She's been after Ron's rat for ages."
"Cats hunt rats, that's normal behaviour. Isn't it, Crooks." The cat purred in response. I actually haven't seen the rat everyone talked about; I've only seen Hermione's cat. "But the way he looks at me… it looks like he wants to tell me something. Strange, isn't it?"
"Since he's not an Animagus, he's probably just a weird, old cat." Lee laughed and reached over the scratch his head, but the ginger ducked and hissed at him.
"I don't think he likes that you called him a weird, old cat, Lee." I chuckled softly as I placed the cat on the ground and stood up. "I got to go. My uncle is probably waiting for me. Oh." I turned to everyone. "Are any of you staying at school during break?"
"No." Was chorused around the group.
"But I heard Harry was staying, and Hermione." Angelina said, looking a bit sad.
"Ron asked mum if he could stay, but he hasn't heard back yet." Fred said.
"Alright." I nodded. "I'll see you at breakfast." I gave a small wave and walked towards the portrait.
"Wait!" I turned to see the twins follow me out. "Can we talk?"
"About?" I asked as I descended the stairs, not looking at the boys.
"Alec." They both placed a hand on my shoulders, stopping me. But not so fiercely, that I couldn't break away. I turned to face the twins when we were on the second-floor landing. "We wanted to apologize." George started.
"We were dumb, thoughtless idiots!" Fred sighed. "We wanted to come to the club meeting, but we got side-tracked when we saw the opportunity to prank Filch."
"Which isn't an excuse, we know."
"It's okay." I reassured them, and they both looked surprised at me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, your pranks come before anything else." The twins opened their mouths to reply but I carried on. "You're trying to build a business, I get that. You don't need to come just for me. You have your plans and hobbies, and I have mine. It's okay if they are not the same, but just give me a heads-up, okay?" I kissed their cheeks and turned again. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The twins stood there, looking at my retreating back at a loss for words. When I disappeared from view, they finally came out of it.
"That didn't go as planned." Fred looked a little stunned.
"Tell me about it." George groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "We need to fix this."
"Agreed. No matter what, we'll be at the next meeting. So, we better not get caught doing something, because it's the night they usually give us detention. Come on, let's get back upstairs." He nudged his twin to turned and they headed back up the stairs.
LB
I could spot Draco's hair from a mile away. So, when I was walking towards the pitch, that was the first thing I saw. He was flying in the air, trying to go as fast as he could on his broom. It was the first time I saw him flying, and I admit he was good. I couldn't wait to see him play against Harry, if he plays fair anyway. When Draco flew near me, he spotted me and gave me a nod. I walked behind the pitch until I reached the forest line. When I looked back, all of the players were gone from the sky. I lowered myself to the ground and leaned against the wooden stand behind me. About ten minutes later, Draco appeared next to me. He conjured up a blanket before he sat down next to me.
"A little bit of grass isn't going to kill you, you know." I chuckled.
"These are new trousers, Alexandra. These cost a fortune." He huffed. He looked towards the dark trees in front of us, the silence heavy between us. After a few silent minutes, he spoke. "What's going on between you and Emmett Nott?" Alright, this wasn't where I thought this conversation was going.
"What's going on between you and Pansy?" I countered, but it was probably nothing. I haven't seen any interest from him towards her, but I had to say something.
"Pansy?" Draco snorted. "Nothing. My father wanted to set an arranged marriage in motion for the both of us."
"WHAT?" I turned away from the forest and looked to my cousin. He combed his fingers through his blonde hair.
"Yeah, he had it all worked out. Even made contracts with Pansy's parents."
"What happened?"
"Mother." Draco's smile grew wide. "When she found out, she went ballistic."
"You don't want to face a mama bear." I nodded with a grin. "Especially your mum. You're her world."
Draco looked at me with large grey eyes, that matched mine. After he recovered from my statement, he casts his eyes down. "It was an arranged marriage between them. And as far as I remember, they never had a real, happy, loving relationship. I don't think she wants me to have the same faith."
I placed a hand on his shoulder, the first time we actually engaged in real contact. "She wants you to be happy, with whomever you chose."
"She's planning on leaving him."
"I know." I whispered.
"What? You know?"
"I - I do. She wrote to me to ask advice since they married in France. She wanted to know what the best way to an easy divorce is. How do you feel about it? About your parents splitting up, I mean."
"Ok, I guess." He shrugged. "It's not like they're happy now. They sleep in different bedrooms; she even has her own wing. I split my time between the two, but most of my time is with her. My father..." He shuddered and shook his head.
"You don't have to tell me." I said. Draco had his head down, and without thinking, I pulled him in a hug. Draco was frozen for a moment before he relaxed and wrapped his arms around my waist. I knew already about how his father was, not from the rumours at school but from the stories Aunt Cissy told me, from the way Draco flinched at something unexpected close to him. I knew enough.
"I don't want to be like him, Alexandra." He whispered in my hair. His voice was so soft, it was almost carried away with the wind. And my arms tightened around him. "I never wanted this thing with Hagrid and Buckbeak to get out of hand. I told my father, but he wouldn't hear of it. I'm still not convinced the big oaf should be teaching, but..." He took in a deep breath.
"You're nothing like him, Draco. And there is still time for you to turn things around." I pushed him back, so I could look at him. "You take more after your mum than you know." I gave him a small smile.
"Alexandra..." His stormy grey eyes reflecting mine. "I think Sirius is innocent."
"What? Why?"
"Like I said, father was a -" He looked around nervously, but he his voice was softer so only I could hear. "A death eater. If Sirius was the one to turn in the Potter's to... He would have welcomed him with open arms, give him shelter at our home or something. I remember a conversation that I overheard my mother had with a friend. The Potter's were like his extended family, the family you choose. He would have never betrayed them. I think it's pretty much the same as you and Lupin. You're chosen family, and you protect each other through everything."
I smiled weakly at him. "What do you think happened then?" I asked as we both turned back to the forest.
"I wish I knew."
LB
After a long silence of us just staring into the forest, Draco turned back to me. "I heard you're staying in the castle during Christmas."
"Since my family lives here, yeah." I chuckled.
"There is a good chance my mother left him by then. Why don't you celebrate Christmas or New Year's with us."
"Well, who would have thought that Draco Malfoy would invite a Gryffindor, a Black over to their home." I couldn't help but grin. And he shoved me with a huff, but a smile appeared on his pale face.
"Even if I didn't want to admit it at first... You're family. And like my mum said, we don't have much family left. She would love to see you again."
"If you insist." I nudged his shoulder. "I'll ask my uncle later."
"Even though it would be super awkward and weird to have a teacher sit with us during break, you can invite him too."
"See? Nothing like your father. I'm glad I reached out to you."
"Me too." His voice was so soft, if it wasn't for my wolf hearing I would have missed it. "What's that?" He whispered as something large and black moved through the trees. He jumped up, wand at the ready and took a protective stance before me. I scrambled up, took my wand out of my boot and stepped next to Draco, who's arm stopped me from going closer. I smiled a little to myself, for his protectiveness. The large, dark shadow moved fluently through the trees. Then its head turned, and yellow eyes landed on me.
Draco hissed. "Let's go." He turned to run away. But when I didn't move, he pulled my sleeve. But I was fixed on the yellow eyes that were staring back at me from the dark shadows of the forest. I felt a sense of familiarity, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Maybe if I could have a closer look, if I could just see what it was. I took a step forward and a branch cracked under my boot. The head of the beast turned before disappearing in the forest all together. "Alexandra!" Draco shouted. I turned to look at him, a little dazed. His eyes were large, and I hinted a glimpse of fear behind his mask.
"Sorry. Let's go." I shook my head and followed after him. I looked over my shoulder again but couldn't see more than the trees and shadows.